Rain fell heavily over the De Luca estate that night.
The mansion stood like a silent king on the hill, its lights glowing through the storm. Inside, laughter echoed through the halls as eight boys ran through the living room, their footsteps loud against the marble floor.
"Adrian! Wait for me!" a boy shouted.
Two identical five-year-olds raced through the hallway, their small feet slipping slightly on the polished floor. Adrian was the faster one, his bright laughter filling the house as he ran toward the garden doors.
"Alessio is too slow!" Adrian teased, sticking his tongue out at his twin.
Alessio huffed. "I am not!"
Across the room, their six older brothers watched the chaos.
Marco, the eldest, shook his head with a small smile.
"Those two are going to break something."
Dante leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "Or each other."
"Mom said no running," Nico added nervously, though he was smiling.
None of them expected the night to end the way it did.
Outside, the storm grew stronger.
Lightning flashed across the sky as the garden lights flickered.
Adrian pushed the glass door open and ran outside, giggling as the cold rain touched his face.
"Adrian! Wait!" Alessio shouted, chasing after him.
But he never caught up.
A dark van waited beyond the tall hedges.
The door slid open.
A gloved hand grabbed the small boy before he could even scream.
Lightning flashed again.
The van door slammed shut.
And just like that…
Adrian De Luca vanished.
Inside the mansion, the laughter slowly died down.
Minutes passed.
Then Alessio walked back into the house alone.
"Where's Adrian?" Luca asked.
The boy looked confused.
"He was right behind me…"
The brothers searched the garden.
Then the driveway.
Then the entire estate.
But Adrian was gone.
By midnight, the De Luca mansion was no longer filled with laughter.
It was filled with rage.
Lorenzo De Luca stood in the center of his office, his phone crushed in his hand, his voice colder than the storm outside.
"Find my son."
His men lowered their heads.
"If he is not found," Lorenzo continued slowly, "I will burn this entire city to the ground until someone tells me where he is."
For eleven years, the De Luca family searched.
For eleven years, the underworld whispered the same story.
The mafia king had eight sons…
But the youngest one had disappeared.
Until the day he was finally found.
Broken.
Silent.
And no longer the boy who had been stolen.